Martial Arts Action Seminar for Big Brothers Big Sisters, Detroit

Before I left the states, I had the honor and privalege of doing an action seminar for Big Brothers, Big Sisters Detroit. It was actually supposed to be one of the first things I did when I got back in August, but life being as it is, things kept getting delayed and pushed back and we finally managed to make it happen just a few days before I had to leave for Tokyo.

At the time I was actually in the middle of filming for Letters To No One, and I had to be on set that day, but thankfully it was also in downtown Detroit (only about 15 min) and they only needed me in the late afternoon, so it worked out well. I'm glad I didn't have to be on set in the morning because if I did, I would have had to show up filthy and exhausted (and with equally filthy mats), and that wouldn't have made for the best first impressions.

Anyway, the seminar was an absolute blast and each and every one of the kids was a pleasure to work with. Let no one say that kids from from the hood are lazy or hard to work with. On a certain level the seminar just vindicated a belief that I already held: That if you care, and your students know it, they'll always do their best regardless of where you (or them) are from.

After having this experience, ( as well as the one at Everett High School and finally getting a chance to check out "Waiting for Superman" on the plane ride back to Tokyo) I'm bound and determined to get involved in a lot more projects such as these once I get back to the states next year. Particularly in the Detroit area.

First Appearance on an American TV Drama... sort of

I had a job for the new ABC drama Detroit 187 last week. As there is a scene in an upcoming episode that takes place in a boxing gym, they wanted to take photos of fights for the walls of the gym, and with my background, I was one of the people selected for the photos. Anyway, I was happy to be on the show, even if only as a still image ;)

It actually reminded me of a similar job I did for a Japanese TV drama once. There was a scene where the main character reflected on and recalled his time in Africa, and he had to hand a photo from it over to someone else in the scene to look at. Much like this past shoot, the attention to detail was simply insane. In that shoot, the guy was standing in front of a tank to stop the destruction of an orphanage, and they actually brought in 20 little African (or half-African) kids, 10 'soldiers' (of which I was a part) and an ACTUAL TANK. For the orphanage, they seemd to have painted the walls, put up banners, planted flowers, etc. and then they spent the WHOLE day shooting it from different angles simply to get that one image. This one was similar, although not quite that extreme. (Didn't get to ride a moving tank this time).

In the pictures, I was wearing camoflage trunks (which were actually pretty cool- wish I coulda kept them). They got a few really good shots, but as the person I was 'sparring' with didn't have any action experience, (and as such, didn't know how to 'sell a hit') they seemed the most happy with the shots where I was taking it to the face, so that's what will probably be on the show (unfortunately ;)

Another cool thing about the shoot though was the fact that I got a chance to meet IBF World Boxing Champion, Cornelieus 'K-9' Bundrage. (Also there for the shoot). During the downtime, he gave me a few tips on how to improve my boxing technique, and showed me a REDICULOUSLY SICK jumprope routine (which I can't even begin to copy and wished like he-- I coulda got on tape). After the shoot was completely finished, and we were just hanging out and talking I got a picture with him as well. Very very nice guy. Very modest and a family man. (Notice the size of his fists and forearms though- said he's been doing 1000 push-ups a day since he was 11.) Definately not the kind of arm I want to take a punch from.

First Filming in Michigan

Had my first experience working on a shoot in Michigan this past weekend for a new Bruce Willis film. While I'm here, I'm training more than anything else, but I registered with Real Styles in Detroit (who casts extras for Hollywood projects in Michigan) just for the chance to get onset and make a bit of extra cash on the side before I start filming on Figment next month, and they cast me in this immediately.

It was a first in terms of a lot of things (i.e. working on a film of that budget size, working here in my home state in Michigan, etc) but the single most impressive thing about it was the food. With a lot of the jobs I did in Japan, the craft services (i.e. food) consisted of a few bottles of tea, some Okashi (snacks) and a bento (lunch box).

Here just the snack table was INCREDIBLE. 6 different kinds of fresh veggies, all kinds of fruit (dehydrated and fresh), 5 or 6 different kinds of nutri-grain bars, 5 or 6 different kinds of candy bars, multiple kinds of potato, corn and veggie chips, and a multitude of different nuts... and all that was BEFORE LUNCH.

Lunch actually consisted of king crab, fresh steak, grilled chicken, 2 kinds of pie, 3 kinds of salad (with 7 different kinds of dressing) and the list goes on and on. The most incredible thing was the fact that I was eating like this as an extra. I can't even imagine what they must have been feeding Bruce and 50 cent.

Beyond that, the mechanics of the shoot itself were pretty much the same. The equipment they used was obviously of a bigger budget, but how they did things was nothing new. I did learn a few cool new tricks for dealing with fake blood, and adding realism to a murder, so that was cool though.

Beyond that, the other big difference was the pay rate... As an extra, for shorter shoots, Japanese films actually pay better... but out here, you actually get overtime pay and all kinds of bonus for things (wearing your own clothes, bringing your own props, etc) so for a longer or more involved shoot, you can actually make a really decent amount. It's no wonder there are people who work as extras full time in LA.